The Arduous Last Journey: Refugees’ Migration from Rawalpindi in 1947 and the Attendant Hardships

Abstract

Falling in the domain of the “new history” of Partition, the article deals with the social history of partition of the Punjab by highlighting what was the deep personal meaning of Punjab’s territorial division for the Sikhs and Hindus of Rawalpindi. The study’s spatial scope encompasses the administration of six districts in the Rawalpindi division, namely Rawalpindi, Attock, Jhelum, Mianwali, Shahpur, and Gujrat, where the non-Muslims were a minority. This made them vulnerable targets of violent attacks from the Muslims in 1947. The Sikhs and Hindus faced challenges in ensuring safety and security amid the chaos and uncertainty of the situation. Although they escaped the gravity of partition related violence unleashed in areas where the Punjab Boundary Force was deployed, they were not entirely safe from imminent threats of violent attacks as they set out on their journey. The study demonstrates that the movement of the non-Muslim refugees from Rawalpindi was not as smooth as it is popularly believed; rather, it was shaped by anxiety, terror, and adversities. Apart from the dangers of being subject to violent attacks instilling constant distress among them, the
physical hardships left them with no choice but to neglect them, which in a normal situation they would not have. The attendant dangers and miseries of their last journey left deep imprints on their minds and lives as they started living in their new geographical environment after 1947.